A Leap of Faith
by betterthanfiction
Summary: Could Eli and Clare really ever pick up where they left off?  A one-shot.


**Yup, yet another Frostival fic to add to the many that have already been written. I posted this on Tumblr a few weeks ago, and felt like sharing it with the lovely people on . So yeah, this is ideally what I'd love to happen in the season finale, but knowing my luck, the writers won't go along with this and totally have Eli and Clare never speak to each other again after this. Ah, well. Enjoy anyway! Reviews would be highly appreciated!**

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><p>"Do you think we could ever pick up where we left off?"<p>

Eli and Clare were walking side by side at Degrassi's first annual Frostival, as the two decided to go together as friends. Adam was originally supposed to tag along as well, but he decided to go with Tori instead, so they were left to go by themselves. They had a wonderful time regardless. They played games, rode on a few rides, and Eli even bought her cotton candy. Everything was going quite well. That is, until Eli decided to bring up the question that they'd both been asking themselves since they broke up.

Eli stopped in his tracks, and Clare turned around to face him. Her first instinct was to say no; that there was no way in hell she would ever date him again. They'd just rekindled their friendship to what it was before they started dating, and Clare didn't want to risk ruining that again by going into another relationship with him, especially since it could potentially end just as it did last time, with Eli becoming clingy and possessive and Clare not being able to find an easy way out.

But the way he was looking at her was so sincere, so scared, so…loving. _This_ was the boy she fell in love with; the one who, as she'd said before, had the confidence to tell her she had pretty eyes, but was more interested in her brain. The one who wanted nothing more than to be her best friend again. The sweet, caring, intelligent young man who often got lost in his own mind and had difficulty getting out.

Eli took Clare's lack of answer as a no, and looked down as he laughed sadly. "I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to ask. We probably couldn't," he said, even though he didn't really believe it. He just didn't want to freak Clare out or make it seem like he was pressuring her to get back in a relationship with her. If friends was the closest they were ever going to be again, then he was perfectly okay with that. It was better than nothing.

Embarrassed, he turned around and sighed as he prepared to walk away.

"Wait!" cried Clare. Eli didn't move, but he didn't turn to face her.

"…I want to." At this, Eli turned around, shocked.

"What?" he asked, not believing what he just heard.

"I want to, so bad. But…I'm so scared. What if you snap again? Then what? Do we go back to how things were last spring? Because if you do, then I'm not sure if we could."

Clare brought up very good points, ones that would make anyone wary to get back into a relationship with anyone who had treated them the way Eli had treated Clare, but he responded, "I'm better now, Clare. It hasn't always been easy, and there will certainly still be some bad days with me, but I'm in a much better place than I was this time last year, and I don't think I'll ever be as bad as I was then."

A long silence fell upon them. They both looked each other in the eye, trying to read the other's emotions.

"You're just going to have to trust me," Eli said finally.

Clare began to tear up a bit, thinking about what Eli had said; how he was once again opening up to her, and how she was doing the same to him; how she'd admitted that she wanted to be with him again more than anything. She realized that she still loved him and probably always will. She looked at the ground, trying to find the right words to say. Eli sighed and looked down as well, preparing for the worst.

"I think we could."

He looked up suddenly, his heart racing at hearing the words. Clare was looking directly at him, smiling.

"You…you do?" Eli stuttered.

"Um, well, I still have some feelings to sort out, and I'm still not sure if I'm ready to be in another relationship with you yet, or with anyone, for that matter. But I trust your judgment, and if you're still up for it when I'm ready, then yes, I think we could pick up where we left off."

Eli's heart soared at this comment, especially since Clare said _when_ she was ready, rather than _if_. "When you're ready, Clare, I'll be ready. I'll always be ready."

They smiled at each other, and despite the uncertainties of the future, they knew that since they day they'd met, their destinies had become intertwined, and fate would always bring them together again. Fate had decided that they deserved a second chance, and this time, everything would work out in the end.

They were certain of it.


End file.
